Proceedings of the
International Conference on Mechanical Engineering 2009
(ICME2009) 26- 28 December 2009, Dhaka, Bangladesh

ICME09-FM-33

CONTROLLING THE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF EXHALED
BIOAEROSOL DROPLETS BY MODULATING THE
VISCOELASTIC PROPERTIES OF HUMAN AIRWAY MUCUS

Md Anwarul Hasan1, Carlos F. Lange1 and Malcolm King2
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada
2Pulmonary Research Group, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Canada

ABSTRACT

Effect of the viscoelastic properties of artificial mucus simulant samples on the volume size distribution of bioaerosol droplets generated during simulated coughing has been investigated through in-vitro experiments. The mucus simulant samples had similar viscoelastic properties as real human airway mucus. The mucus simulant gels were prepared by mixing various proportions of 1% Locust bean gum solution and 0.1 M sodium tetraborate (XLB) solution. The viscoelastic properties of the samples were measured using a Bohlin Gemini (Malvern) nano rheometer with peltier plate assembly. An artificial cough machine was used to simulate human cough, generating aerosol droplets in a model trachea attached to the front of the cough machine. The size distribution of the droplets generated through simulated cough was measured using a laser diffraction particle sizer (Malvern SprayTec). Results confirm that the viscoelastic properties of mucus have substantial effect on the size distribution of bioaerosol droplets generated during coughing. The experimental results showed an increase in particle size as the sample changed from an elastic solid type to a viscoelastic type to viscous fluid type sample.
 

Keywords: Bioaerosol droplets, Mucus, Viscoelasticity, Surface Tension, Cough machine.

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